Tuesday, October 11, 2011

la Finca... and la Family

i had a sweet time last month on a weekend trip to the Lucas family farm. it was only a 3hour bus-ride from the city, but it had been a long time coming, i was finally free to be able to go along...

i loved the swim (and shampoo) in the river...

i loved lounging and listening to all the commotion created over mealtimes...
i loved imagining all the history in this humble country home, and wishing the walls could tell the story...

i loved the fruit...and the silly fun "working" in the fields...

i loved thrashing through acres of fallen cacao leaves...

i loved catching mandarins and eating all the ones that split open when i missed...

i loved tromping with friends under the shade of endless plantain trees...

but what i loved most was being with a family... i hadn't known how much i had been missing it.

and though i was a invited guest, an added part, welcomed and included in all the 'to-dos' and in all the relaxing... there were moments over the course of the weekend when tears filled my eyes, and i felt the pangs of homesickness more than i have ever felt in the past seven years combined.

i hadn't expected that, it caught me rather of guard... but i relished being a silent observer, and felt like i couldn't get enough.

the teasing banter between cousins, the rough uncle-hugs, the playful arguing of women's voices from the kitchen over who paid for this and who paid for that, the chorus of laughter over the simplest of family jokes...

it all brought 'home' flooding back. And in a culture and in a context so foreign, it was all so wonderfully familiar...

4 comments:

I'm so glad you finally got to go to the finca, I never did. You had a wonderful time and made some more great memories to put in that bank. And I understand that family part, so well. Problem is, when you get back here and are part of your own family times again, you miss that other family. Just can't seem to have it both ways.

Hey Janna,Sounds like that weekend was good for your soul. When I saw the caption that said "working" on the farm, I thought of one of my favourite days when a bunch of us went to camp to clean up after hurricane Juan. Do you remember that day? Feliz Navidad, Janna!Home misses you, too.

about me

When I first thought about creating this blog I was on my way "home" to Canada for the summer, but two months passed quickly, and I have now traveled back "home" to Ecuador, and am here to stay for now. So, where is home? I dunno, but thank the good LORD I don't have to decide. Home is where He is...so i hope that those of you who enjoy catching up on things in my life will find that truth in these pages. And at the very least, this blog will be a good reminder to me that all of this, that I call life, is just part of my journey home...